Tag Archives: grout cleaning

This enquiry came from a theatre buff at a house in Sonning Eye near Reading who regularly hosted cast members playing at the local Mill Theatre. Five years prior he had a Limestone tiled wet room installed and unfortunately the floor tiles were laid unevenly and the fall on the tiles didn’t allow the water to drain off efficiently. The water would therefore tend to pool in the centre and overtime heavy limescale built-up and mould had also started to appear.

Cast members staying at his house although grateful of the hospitality had often mention the state of the unsightly shower and so we were asked to pop round and see what could be done to renovate it and restore its appearance.

Shower Tile and Grout Cleaning

The first task was to remove the mould that had ingrained the Limestone, to do this I used Tile Doctor Duo Clean and scrubbed it into the tile with assistance from a steamer. I repeated this action three times, after each time I could see a visible improvement in the affected area and once it had lightened to a very faint grey, I knew that the next cleaning process to burnish the stone would see it disappear completely so left it at that.

Next job was to remove the limescale build-up and re polish the Limestone tiles. I found the best way to do this was with a small hand-held machine, this allowed me to get into all the edges and groves that would have been impossible with a larger machine which would have struggled to cope with the uneven tiles.

I started with a 400-grit burnishing pad, but this struggled to cut into the years limescale build-up, so I switched this for 100-grit soft milling pad which did the trick. Once all the limescale had been removed it was time to rebuild the polish on the surface of the stone, so the process was repeated working through finer and finer burnishing pads 200, 400, 800,1500 and finally 3000-grit until the appearance of the Limestone was restored. This is quite a time-consuming process as the pad are quite small, additionally each pad is applied with water to provide lubrication which turns into a slurry that has to be rinsed off before applying the next pad. The result however is worth at as it really restores the polished appearance of the Limestone.
The last part of the cleaning process was to give the grout a quick clean I did this by scrubbing in Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines with a grout brush, again rinsing off the slurry afterwards. Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline tile and grout cleaner that’s safe to use on natural stone.

Sealing Limestone Tiles in a Wet Room

The final task was to seal the Limestone and replace the worn mastic/silicon sealant around the edges. Usually I would leave the stone to dry out overnight but as it was a small area, I was able to thoroughly dry it out using a heat gun. Once dry two good coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal were applied to provide on-going protection. Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by occupying the small pores in the stone thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained, also it doesn’t change the colour of the stone in any way leaving a very natural appearance.

Last step before finishing was to apply a fresh application of white mastic sealant along the edges of the tiling to ensure a good seal and no leaks.

My customer was over the moon with the result as initially he thought he might have to have it replaced. He was so pleased in fact that he left the following feedback on the Tile Doctor feedback system.

“Excellent prompt and courteous service from Dennis who I cannot recommend too highly. After completion of the work a previously very tired looking wet-room looked better than it did when new.”

We were contacted by a family from Hillsborough, which is a suburb of Sheffield, who had seen some of the work we do renovating shower cubicles on the internet and wanted to know if I would do the same for their shower.

One of the biggest problems affecting bathrooms is mould which thrives in a warm damp environment, the best way to prevent it is to extract the moisture created when having a shower with adequate ventilation. Other steps you can take to reduce mould include always leaving the door open after a shower to improve cross ventilation and rinsing the shower down with cold water afterwards. Tile Doctor also have a product called Aqua-Pro that you can spray on your tiles after use.

I went over to take a look and could see that the Ceramic tiles were only slightly stained and would no doubt clean-up easily however the grout had gone black in places with mould and orange in others due to the dyes in shampoos and soaps. Ceramic tiles are glazed and so usually very easy to keep clean however grout and silicone is more vulnerable and if you now cleaned on a regular basis mould can get a grip and it can prove very stubborn to remove.

Cleaning Ceramic Bathroom Tile and Grout

The home owners had tried to rectify the problem before by applying more grout and silicone to the affected areas however this hadn’t cured the ventilation issue, so it wasn’t long before the problem resurfaced. I recommended replacing all the badly affected grout and the silicone sealer strip around the base of the shower to give the cubicle a fresh look.

My first task was to see how far we could get by cleaning the tile and grout using Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which is designed for use in bathrooms where it’s effective at cleaning grout and removing mould. It comes in a spray bottle so it’s just a question of spraying it onto the tile, grout and silicone and leaving it for ten minutes before scrubbing it in with a stiff brush or scouring pad. The soil was then rinsed off the tile and grout and the shower left to dry off for a while, so we could see which areas were so badly stained would need re-grouting.

The next step was to carefully remove the old silicone sealant from around the edges of the shower cubicle using a sharp knife, then using a combination of power tools and blades we removed the grout in the affected areas and put in new white grout to match the exiting.

While the grout was drying, the shower tray was cleaned up and new silicone sealant has added around the base of the shower cubicle using a premium mould resistant silicone that should be more resistant to staining.

The combination of cleaning and grout replacement worked a treat and the shower looks like a brand-new installation. This doesn’t resolve the ventilation issue, so I left the customer with a bottle of Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro with instructions to spray the tiles down regularly in order to keep it looking fresh and clean.

This client lives in Chapel-en-le-Frith which is a small town dubbed the ‘Capital of the Peak’ with parts of the parish lying in the Peak District National Park. They were trying to sell the house, but the shower cubicle was looking very bad and all the potential purchasers were being put off. They wanted to restore a new and fresh look, without spending a fortune, so they could finally sell it and move to their new property. With this in mind they had given me a call to come and take a look and see what could be done.

As you can see from the photos the grout was very badly discoloured in places, so I agreed with the client that the best course of action would be to clean the grout as much as possible and then recolour it with a white Grout Colourant followed by stripping off the old silicone and replacing with new. We discussed the cost and a timescale and booked the job in.

Shower Cubicle Tile Cleaning

The Tile Doctor Grout Colourant Kit comes with everything you need to change the colour of your grout including a Pre-Treat cleaner which is a slightly acidic product that cleans and etches your grout at the same time. This means you can get a better bond with the colourant when it is applied afterwards and ensures the best finish.

I set about cleaning the grout with the pre-treat cleaner which is sprayed on to the tile and then scrubbed in with an abrasive pad. This was then rinsed off with water and re-applied where necessary, some areas were worse than others and needed more work, so I persevered until I was happy the grout was as clean as it could be.

Applying White Grout Colourant

The job could be completed in one day, so the next job was to remove the silicone sealant between the tiles and the shower tray, the sealant was black with mould and dirt and generally in very bad condition.

Once the grout had dried I was able to start the application of the grout colourant using a small brush, wiping any excess off the tiles as I went. A steady hand is required for this job along with a little patience! Two coats of colourant were required to achieve the right finish.

Finally, the last step to complete was to put back a new white silicone sealant using a high-quality mould resistant product. There are many on the market, but the cheaper brands are not usually mould resistant and tend to turn black very quickly. Applying the sealant ensures the shower is waterproof and no water can get behind the tiles.

The shower cubicle had a new look and my client was really surprised about the end result. They now felt more confident that potential purchasers wouldn’t be put off by a grubby looking bathroom. Thankfully it had not cost them too much to make it look a whole lot more appealing.

The owner of this house in the village of Endcliffe Sheffield was unhappy about the state of their Marble wet room and called me in to do something about it. The main issue was that mould had built-up across the bathroom especially on the grout and silicone sealant, the Marble tiles were also looking dull and needed sprucing up.

Dealing with Mould in a Wet Room

Mould thrives in moist warm conditions and without adequate ventilation it will start to take hold. Often in cases like this we advise clients to improve the power of their extractor fan or leave a window and a door open after a shower, in this case however the wet room had no windows. Another option you can try is to run the shower cold for a few minutes after you have used it, this decreases the temperature and removes moisture from the air. That tip is easily forgotten when your in a hurry so regular cleaning with Tile Doctor Duo-Clean which is a tile cleaner and mould remover should allow you to keep on top of the problem.

In this case the Mould had really taken a hold and I knew form experience that scrubbing with a powerful cleaner like Duo Clean was unlikely to get the grout back to the pristine condition the customer wanted so I decided to strip out all the affected grout and silicone and replace with new. It took some time but I have a special electric grout removal tool that comes in handy for these situations and so it wasn’t long before I had removed the worse of it. This was followed by carefully removing the silicone sealant that ran between the shower tray and Marble wall tiles with a sharp knife.

Polishing Marble Wall and Floor Tiles

Next, I turned my attention to the Marble tiles which had lost their shine and become dull. Marble is hard stone and to get the best out of it we find its best to burnish them with a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads that remove the dirt and slowly bring back the polished appearance. Normally when we talk about burnishing it’s in relation to stone floor tiles however these pads also come in small six-inch size as well which will fit a hand buffer or Angle Grinder.

Like floor burnishing the pads are applied in sequence starting with the coarse 400-grit pad and moving up through the 800, 1500 and finally the very fine 3,000-grit pad. The lower grit pads need to be lubricated with water and you rinse between each pad with water to remove the slurry that is generated.

Finishing the Marble Wet Room Renovation

With the Marble tiles now looking good it was time to protect them from future staining by sealing them with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is a premium sealer that leaves a natural look that doesn’t darken the colour of the stone.

I left the re-grouting to last as its easier to remove grout from a sealed tile and then finished by putting back the silicone strip, both the grout and the silicone we chosen for their anti-mould formula and before leaving I gave some advice on how to keep on top of the mould problem going forward.

My client was delighted with the result and relieved that they would no longer feel embarrassed when visitors ask to use the bathroom.

We were asked to look at a renovating a bathroom shower at a house at the The Green, near Millom which was rather useful as it is a short distance from my own home. Millom is a small town in South West Cumbria that actually dates to 1251 when it was given a market charter by King Henry III.

Given the location it wasn’t long before I was able to pop round and review the shower installation. It was clear that the shower needed some Tile Doctor TLC, with mould being a major issue in the silicone seal and grout near the base of the shower.

Mould thrives in warm damp environments such as shower cubicles and the problem can usually be traced to a lack of adequate ventilation. Improving the ventilation should resolve the problem permanently however if that’s not possible it can be controlled by regular use of products such as Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro shower cleaner or Tile Doctor Duo Clean which is a double action mould and grout cleaner. Other steps you can take include leaving the door open after a shower to improve cross ventilation and rinsing the shower down with cold water after a shower.

After reviewing the installation, we agreed on a price and I returned a few days later to carry out the work.

Cleaning Ceramic Bathroom Tile and Grout

On return the first thing we did was thoroughly clean the tile and grout using Tile Doctor Oxy-Gel, our high performance alkaline cleaner and de-greaser in gel form making light work of cleaning vertical tiled surfaces. The gel was scrubbed into all tile and grout surfaces and left to dwell for five minutes then thoroughly rinsed down with water. This process was repeated until we were happy with the result.

The next stage was to remove the mould riddled silicon and small areas of damaged grout at the base of the shower unit. This took some time to achieve as the silicon was in a very poor state. Once all traces of the silicone were removed we cleaned the area with more Oxy-Gel and carefully rinsed all the residues to stop us having any problems when re-applying new silicone.

The shower tray was cleaned of debris and a heat gun was used to completely dry all areas.

Replacing Shower Grout and Silicone Sealant

Finally, with the mould removed it was clear that a few areas of grout were crumbling and needed replacing. The old grout was raked out and a new batch of mould resistant grout was prepared and applied. Whilst that was drying I also replaced the silicone sealant between the shower tray and tile using a mould resistant silicone.

We asked the customer to not use the shower for at least 24 hours and as can be seen in the photographs the shower appearance was vastly improved. The customer is very pleased commenting that “it looks like new”.

The photographs below are from one of three shower cubicles we were asked to clean and restore at a modernised Victorian property in SALE Cheshire. Ceramic tiles are glazed so very easy to keep clean, grout and silicone however are not and if you let mould build-up untreated it can very difficult to remove.

Mould likes a warm damp environment which can be reduced by improving the ventilation in the shower room, other steps you can take to reduce mould include always leaving the door open after a shower to improve cross ventilation and rinsing the shower down with cold water after a shower. Tile Doctor also have a product called Oxy-Pro that you can spray on your tiles after use.

Sale is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester but is historically part of Cheshire and dates to before the Middle Ages. A survey commissioned by the Royal Mail in 2017 highlighted Sale as the 4th most desirable town in England to live in and being so close to the city of Manchester makes it a popular choice for commuters.

Cleaning Ceramic Bathroom Tile and Grout

To get the grout clean Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was decanted into a spay bottle diluted with water and the solution was sprayed onto the grout lines. Pro-Clean in a strong and effective grout cleaner and after leaving it in place for about five minutes it was scrubbed in by hand using a stiff brush along the grout lines. I also gave the tile and cubicle glass a clean with Tile Doctor Oxy-Pro which comes in a ready to use spray bottle.

The next step was to carefully remove the old silicone sealant from around the edges of the shower cubicle using a sharp knife, so it could be replaced with new.

At this stage I took a step back to review the results of the cleaning, I wanted the best possible outcome for my customer and if more work was needed to get the shower looking it’s best now was the time. I concluded that the grout was much improved by unfortunately the mould staining was still visible in areas and that the best way to proceed would be to colour the grout.

Colouring Shower Tile Grout

Tile Doctor have a Grout Colourant product that’s available in ten different colours including White which I felt would be the best colour for the cubicle. Other colours include three shades of Grey, two shades of Brown and two shades of Beige as well as Black. The Grout Colourant is painted onto the grout lines using a small brush and I find a toothbrush works well for this purpose. Excess colourant needs to be removed from the tile before it sets, and I often find baby wipes work well for this purpose.

The grout colourant adds an epoxy barrier over the grout that is resistant to staining and much easier to clean than the grout itself. With this in place the grout will stay protected and the cubicle should keep its appearance for some time to come.

While the Grout Colourant was drying I replaced the silicone around the base of the shower cubicle using a premium mould resistant silicone that should be more resistant to staining.

Once the colourant and silicone had dried I gave the cubicle a final inspection and buffed up the ceramic tiles with a six-inch white pad fitted to a handheld buffer. As I mentioned before there were three shower cubicles to complete so as one was drying I was able to move onto another and as a result managed to complete all three in one day.

The photograph below is of a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle at a house in the lovely village of Walshaw which is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, near Tottington and Bury. Most of the grout had darkened and some of the grout had cracked and had fallen out, the silicone seal at the bottom of the shower had gone mouldy in places and would also need replacing.

I find mould is a common problem in bathrooms and more prevalent in smaller bathrooms where the hot air and steam are unable to dissipate as easily creating the ideal environment for mould to grow. The solution is improved ventilation; alternatively you can keep on top of the situation by regular cleaning with Tile Doctor Duo Clean.

Tile and Grout Cleaning

To tackle this installation I started by spraying the Tile and Grout down with Tile Doctor Duo-Clean, let it soak in for about ten minutes and then scrubbed it in by hand with a stiff brush followed by rinsing with water. This made a big improvement however there were still areas where the grout was still showing evidence of staining and would need a grout colourant applied to make it look like new again.

Next step however was to rake out the areas of grout that had crumbled and replace with new. Being a Tile Doctor this is something we are very familiar with and once the grout had dried I was able to move onto colouring.

Normally I would recommend using a Grout Colourant Pre-Treater before colouring however in this case I felt the scrub down I gave the grout with Duo-Clean would prepare the grout sufficiently and further preparation would not be necessary. The colourant is painted on using a small brush over the grout and any excess wiped off the ceramic tiles. The process makes a big difference to the look of a shower and the colourant provides a barrier over the grout making it easier to clean in future.

Last step was to strip out the silicone sealant between the shower wall and tray and replace with a new mould resistant sealant in white.

The shower cubicle was transformed and now looks as though it was recently installed.

The photographs below are of a Ceramic Tiled Shower Cubicle installed in a retirement home in Maidenhead. The estimated installation for this bathroom is somewhere between twenty and thirty years and it was well overdue for an overhaul. First of all there was noticeable grout haze left on the tiles where it wasn’t polished off properly during installation and the second issue was the amount dirt and scum that had built up over the years. I suspect this was exacerbated by grout haze issue as it allowed the dirt to become trapped on the surface of the tile.

Shower Tile and Grout Cleaning

A strong mix of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was decanted into a spray bottle and applied to the tile and grout allowing it to dwell for a while before being scrubbed in with a stiff hand brush. This action worked to break down the years of dirt and grime that had built-up in the grout lines and on the surface of the ceramic tiles. The tiles were then rinsed down with water and repeated where required until I was satisfied.

The next step was to tackle the grout haze which refers to the smears of grout left on a tile by the tiller after installation; this should have been polished off as it can be difficult to remove once the grout has set. To remove I knew I would need to use an acid so a strong mix of Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up was applied using a sprayer bottle and then scrubbed off with an abrasive black pad. In some areas where the grout was proving extremely stubborn I found leaving Tile Doctor Acid Gel for a longer period of time before scrubbing in was more affective.

The shower tile and grout was then given another rinse with water and I could see that although the tiles were now clean and the grout was much improved the grout still looked stained in places so I decided the best course of action would be to apply a white grout colourant to restore a uniform appearance. Before applying that however I applied fresh grout to a few area where old had crumbled away.

Normally I would recommend using a Grout Colourant Pre-Treater before colouring however in this case I felt that the combination of products that had already been scrubbed into the grout would of more than prepared the surface to accept the colourant.

I left the shower to dry over lunch and then on my return used a heat gun to ensure the grout was bone dry before applying the grout colourant. The colourant is actually very easy to apply and is simply painted onto the grout using a small brush making sure to wipe off any excess from the ceramic tile as you go along. The process makes a big difference to the look of a shower and the colourant provides a barrier over the grout making it much easier to clean in future.

Last step was to strip out the old silicone sealant between the shower wall and tray and replace with a new mould resistant sealant in white and to give the tile a buff with a white pad fitted to a handheld buffer to remove any remaining residue.

The shower cubicle was transformed and now looks as though it was recently installed. Certainly the customer was very pleased with the final result and left the following feedback.

“Dennis was the ultimate professional, prompt, polite and a pleasure to deal with, the transformation to the tiles in the shower is amazing, would have no hesitation in recommending him. A first class job”

Porcelain is a popular choice for tiles in modern homes due to its superior durability. It also makes a particularly suitable material for shower tiles because of its natural water resistance. Nonetheless, Porcelain tiles – just like any other type of tile – still require routine cleaning and maintenance to stay looking fresh and attractive.

This is especially the case for shower tiles, as they are subject to mould and scum caused by exposure to the dyes in shampoos and soaps etc which as well as staining the tiles can have a dramatic effect on the grout. Below is a photo of a Porcelain shower cubicle I was asked to restore in Edinburgh. The process for restoring these types of tiles is relatively quick and easy, providing you use the right products and methods. Here’s how I did it.

Cleaning and Sealing Porcelain Shower Cubicle Tiles

To begin refreshing this cubicle, I gave the whole area – paying particular attention to the grout lines – a scrub down using Tile Doctor Duo Clean. Duo Clean is our product of choice for the removal of the common mould and soap scum that builds up on cubicles like this one.

Next, I rinsed down the area with fresh water to remove any trace of cleaning product and then left it to dry for a short period of time. It’s difficult to get the grout lines perfectly clean, especially after years of neglect, but we can resolve the situation by simply recolouring the grout.

I this case I felt the grout although cleaner from when I started did need more work so I decided to go ahead and apply a Grout Colourant. Tile Doctor has a range of Grout Colourants available in ten colours so I painted on three coats of the white colourant which really improved the look of the grout leaving it clean and fresh. Another advantage is the colourant acts as a barrier on top of the grout sealing the grout joint and protecting them from further staining. Other popular colours available in the range include Black, Cappuccino, and three shades of Grey.

Finally, I ripped and out and replaced the mouldy silicone around the base of the shower cubicle and replaced it with fresh.

The client was very impressed with the speedy restoration. Before leaving the property, I explained that rinsing down the shower cubicle with fresh water after every use can help to reduce the effect of staining and leaving the door and window open after a shower improved ventilation and inhibit the growth of mould. Naturally you can always give me call if the situation gets out of hand.

Earlier in the year we were contacted by the facilities manager of one of the student apartment blocks in Oldham which provides accommodation for the students of Oldham University. They were looking for a firm to revamp the student en-suite bathrooms during the summer recess. The building has 270 apartments and we had been asked to quote for the renewal of the ceramic tile and grout of around 45 shower cubicles (possibly more) which were judged to be in a bad state and beyond the ability of their in-house cleaning team.

The University runs degree courses from Accounting to Sports Coaching and as you can image Students are not known for their cleanliness so we knew we would have our work cut out completing the assignment on time.

Several companies competing for the work however after successfully demonstrating what we can do with a patch test in one of the bathrooms and comparing of quotes I’m pleased to say the facilities company awarded us the contract!

Tile and Grout Cleaning

We returned in the summer and facing a time limit to complete the work we worked out a system whereby we would spray the Tile and Grout down with Tile Doctor Duo-Clean, let it soak in for about ten minutes and then scrubbed it in by hand with a stiff brush. Duo Clean is an effective double action grout cleaner and mould remover that can remove mould and blackspot from grout and silicone. It’s really useful for cleaning shower tiles as the spay attachment mixes the product with air as its spayed onto the surface allowing it to stick to vertical surfaces more easily. Once the tile and grout was clean it was rinsed off with water and stubborn areas re-treated until clean.

Duo Clean is effective at dealing with Mould on Silicone in most situations however some of the silicon sealant was beyond cleaning so in these cases the old Silicone was stripped out and replaced with new.

We were able to clean all the shower tile and grout using this process however I had brought a long a few Grout Colouring kits as a back-up solution just in case. Once the grout is clean the colourant is painted on using a small brush and makes a huge difference to the look of a shower. There also inexpensive and provide a barrier over the grout so it keeps its appearance for longer.

There were a lot of bathrooms to cover so once the cubicle was spotless we immediately moved onto the next one completing the whole project three days ahead of the due date.

The facilities manager was delighted with results and timing of our work and it just goes to show that using the right cleaning products can save you time and money compared to the alternative of re-grouting.

Marble tiles are a fantastic choice of stone for a shower cubicle because of its distinctive characteristics and quality. It can really add a luxurious feel and when used in a bathroom take it to the next level.

However, it’s extremely important to note that Marble like all natural stone is a porous and acid-sensitive material. It must therefore be cleaned with care using suitable products. This particular Marble tiled shower cubicle at a property in Leatherhead is a good example of this done wrong. The owner had used an acid-based cleaning product to clean the stone, resulting in damage to the sealer and causing unappealing streaks to form.

This type of damage can appear irreparable but, with the right combination of cleaning methods and products, it can be fixed. Once the old sealer has been removed, and the tiles have been cleaned, polished and re-sealed, they can look as a good as new. Here’s how I helped this customer restore the Marble shower cubicle.

Cleaning and Polishing a Marble Shower Cubicle

To begin the restoration, I scrubbed the dirty grout lines using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a highly reliable and multi-purpose alkaline-based product. I then rinsed the tiles with water to remove the traces of cleaning product.

Next, I moved on to the polishing stage of the restoration – what we often refer to as burnishing. This involved the use of small six-inch diamond-encrusted burnishing pads applied with a hand buffer and with different levels of grit – ranging from Coarse to Very Fine. I started with the Coarse grit pad and worked my way sequentially through our four-pad system, polishing the stone with Medium, Fine and eventually the Very Fine pad to really bring up the polish.

Sealing a Marble Shower Cubicle

Once the shine had returned to the Marble and the damage had been removed, I re-sealed the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow, a penetrating sealer designed to enhance the natural colours and patina of the stone. Once dry, I gave the tiles a final polish with a white buffing pad to put the finishing touches on the restoration.

The customer was thrilled with the results, saying:
“I’m really happy with the result and we will make sure we don’t use supermarket cleaners again on natural stone. Rupert was a very personable tradesman who took pride in what he was doing. He has identified Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner as being the product we should have used in the first place and has sent me the website details.”
Another satisfied customer!

One of the first issues people have with shower rooms is the Silicone needs to be replaced, even a good quality Silicone like Mapei Ultra-seal which is fully waterproof and stain and mould resistant can still succumb to persistent damp issues. In fact it can get so humid in these areas the warm atmosphere is akin to a tropical rain forest.

To avoid the build-up of mould I recommend you rinse the wall tile and silicone down with plain water from the shower head after every shower and then leave the tiles to dry. Open the window and door to let out the warm condensation and after 5 to 10 minutes partly close the window (to the security setting) and then partly close the door, this then normalizes the room temperature thus inhibiting mould spores from blooming, as mould wont start to Spore on a cold room.

The pictures were taken from a shower room at a house a few miles up the road in Kendal where mould had caused a lot of staining to the silicone sealant and to the tile and grout both inside the shower cubicle and in the bathroom itself. There were also a couple of loose tiles around the base of the shower cubicle which needed to be re-fixed.

Cleaning Ceramic Tile and Grout

We started by spraying the tile and grout down with Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaner, spraying it on mixes it air which helps it to stick to Vertical surfaces allowing it to get to work on the dirt. We left it to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand using a stiff grout brush; this process certainly improved the grout but unfortunately it had become too badly stained to be satisfactory so we decided to recolour the grout using a white grout colourant.

Once the shower tile was dry the loose tiles were removed and the damp plaster board behind chopped out and replaced. The tiles were then cleaned up, fixed back into position, then grouted and the silicone sealant around the base of the shower cubicle was stripped out and replaced with new.

Colouring Grout

One to two coats of white colourant were applied to the grout throughout the shower cubicle and shower room in order to get a uniform appearance and this final touch completed the transformation.

The other advantage of these particular colourant products is that they are epoxy based and form a barrier of the grout preventing future staining and making it very easy to clean going forward.

I think you will agree bathroom now looks like it was recently installed.

Here’s a fairly straightforward job I completed at a house in Middlesbrough which if you haven’t come across it before is a large industrial town situated on the south bank of the River Tees famous for its football club.

My client was keen to have the Ceramic tiled shower cubicle in her bathroom refreshed, paying particular attention the areas where the tiles and grout had been stained by the chemicals in shampoos and soaps. There was also signs of mould build-up that needed to be addressed.

Cleaning a ceramic tiled shower cubicle

My first task was to mix a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and clean water. Pro-Clean is an alkaline-based cleaner that is highly effective for removing grease, soap scum, and more. While in this case I used Pro-Clean to clean the Ceramic wall tile and grout, it is also suitable for use on most natural stone floor tiles, including Granite, Slate, Limestone and Travertine.

I then decanted the solution into a spray bottle, and applied it to the tiles and grout. The reason for using a spray bottle is due to the fact cleaning products generally don’t stick very well when applied directly to vertical surfaces. When applied via a spray bottle the solution is mixed with air, turning it into more of a vapour which clings more effectively to the surface.

After the solution had been applied, I left it to dwell for a while before scrubbing it into the tiles and grout. As you can see from the photos, this made a big difference breaking down the mould and soap scum and I was soon able to wash away the resultant slurry leaving an inviting shower cubicle.

The final step was to replace the silicone sealant strip between the shower tray and the tiles; the silicone strip is not so easy to clean and although applying fresh silicone can be tricky it does finish the job off rather nicely. As an alternative you can apply Tile Doctor Mould-Away which does work on Silicone however if your shower is leaking then you can almost guarantee it’s the silicone strip that’s the cause.

If the shower wall had been made from stone I would now be talking about sealing the tiles however Ceramic tiles are glazed and won’t take a seal so the only consideration would have been to use a Grout Sealer however in this case we didn’t feel it was necessary. The shower cubicle now looks like a new installation and my customer was very pleased with the transformation.

Keeping the tile and grout in shower cubicles clean is often a headache for homeowners and this cubicle at a house in Edinburgh was certainly no different. You can see from the photograph below that although the glazed ceramic tiles were in good condition they were being made to look grubby by the stained condition of the adjacent grout and there were also signs of mould build-up. If you catch this early you can overcome the problem spraying on a product called Tile Doctor Mould-Away however in this case a full refresh was required.

Cleaning Ceramic Tile and Grout

We started by spraying the tile and grout down with Tile Doctor which is a strong alkaline cleaner Pro-Clean, spraying it on mixes it with helping it to stick to Vertical surfaces where it can get to work on the dirt. We left it to dwell for ten minutes before scrubbing it in by hand using a stiff grout brush; this process certainly improved the grout but unfortunately it had become too badly stained to be satisfactory so it was agreed with the owner that we would recolour the grout using a white grout colourant.

Recolouring Grout

The grout colourant comes in a tube and is very straightforward to apply although I must admit the work is quite tedious. Two coats of white colourant were required to get the uniform appearance needed and I think you will agree the effect is quite transforming. The other advantage of these particular colourant products is that they are epoxy based and form a barrier of the grout preventing future staining and making it very easy to clean going forward.

The last step was to carefully remove the existing silicon strip along the base of the cubicle with a sharp nice and replace with new. The final result was a shower cubicle that looked recently installed.